Time Will Tell
by whiteswan
Summary: A rough breakup leads to a conversation about the seeming inability for some people to grow up.
1. Breakup and Breakdown

Time Will Tell

Disclaimer: Let's play two truths and a lie: I hate writing disclaimers. I do not own Criminal Minds. I love Will Lamontagne. Which one is the lie? Go!

Note: This is set in early S3 and was written as a gift for a friend who's going through a rough break-up. Since we live too far apart for an ice cream/sappy movies/bitch-about-the-bastard fest, this is my meager way of hoping to cheer her up. Hope it helps sweetie!

As he made his way down the hall of the FBI Academy building, the faint sound of someone crying was the last thing that Aaron Hotchner expected to hear at eleven o'clock on a Friday night. The building was usually all but empty at this time of night and he'd been on his way back to his office after dropping off some files for Strauss, but detoured towards the sound. Unless he was greatly mistaken, his favorite media liaison was here instead of heading out of town for the weekend as she'd planned and, quite uncharacteristically, she was in tears.

His gentle tap on her door went unanswered but a touch to the handle revealed that it was unlocked, so he let himself in. To his dismay, JJ was sitting with her head on her arms, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. She didn't notice his entrance so he rounded the desk to touch her shoulder in an effort to quietly get her attention, "JJ, are you alright?"

She startled under his hand and wiped a hand across her eyes, her cheeks flushing when she realized who he was, "Oh, Hotch, you startled me! Did you need something?" Her already shaky composure was thrown completely off kilter at being caught crying at her desk and by Hotch of all people!

"No, but I heard you and wanted to make sure that everything was alright." Not wanting to intimidate her by looming over her, he tugged one of her visitor's chairs around to the side of the desk and sat down. "Is there something I can do to help you? She'd spent ages listening to his issues over these last few months and he was more than ready to return the favor to whatever degree she'd permit him to.

She sighed and braced her chin on her hand, "Not unless you know of a way to suddenly make me stop feeling like a fool."

He very much doubted her self-professed status as a fool but whatever the problem was, it would help her to get it off of her chest, "Sorry, but if I knew that secret, I'd not only use it myself but I'd be as rich as Dave."

A small, if watery, smile was his reward for the uncharacteristic joke, "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"Of course, JJ."

She let out the breath she'd taken in a huff, "Do you remember the detective from the New Orleans case a few months back?" When he nodded in silent affirmation, she continued, "Well, he asked me out at the end of the case and I decided to give it a try. We started out with texts, calls, stuff like that. Long-distance relationships suck, but with our schedule, a relationship here in Virginia is practically long distance, so I decided to give it a shot. I thought a cop would understand more than anyone."

One dark eyebrow lifted skeptically; there was more to this than that. He'd seen JJ after the end of a brief relationship at least twice before and she hadn't been this upset. She knew that he knew that as well…damn profilers. "Well, I flew down there for a long weekend at the end of May and stayed in a hotel. He was disappointed, but I have more self-respect than that! He flew up here over the Fourth of July and _really_ didn't like that I stuck to my guns and wouldn't sleep with him. Apparently, in Detective Lamontagne's world, making the effort of a four-hour flight entitles him to a little slap and tickle before he even unpacks!" Seeing the murderous look on Hotch's face, she laid a hand on his arm, "Relax Hotch, I handled it. Though, like an idiot, I bought his excuse about forgetting his manners due to having a couple of drinks on the flight up. He stayed the rest of the weekend without an issue."

Hotch deliberately relaxed under her hand, though he was still privately reserving the right to pound Lamontagne into the ground, "Okay JJ, but I know you. That isn't what had you crying a month later. What happened?" He watched reluctance and indecision cross her face before resignation set in and she sat back in her chair with a sigh.

"Well, since we got back at a decent hour tonight, I figured I'd catch a late evening flight out; that's why I put in the notification of going out of town. I'm just glad I waited on booking a flight…," she risked a glance at him and found herself the recipient of a stern look for her stalling,"…because when I called him to let him know, a woman answered his phone and I could hear him in the background telling her to ignore it and come back to bed."

The barely suppressed rage Hotch was nurturing was muted by horror when he saw tears well in her eyes again and before he realized what he was doing, he'd stood, tugged her gently out of her chair and folded her into a hug, "I'm sorry JJ." His shirt front quickly dampened as she broke down again, "I'm so sorry."

When she decided to speak again, it was muffled by the fabric of his dress shirt but understandable, "I never expected it to last forever, you know, but is it too much to ask for someone to make my feelings a priority? These last few months have been shit, between Reid's spiral, Elle, Gideon, cases and…." She trailed off for a minute and he realized that even as upset as she was, she didn't want to hurt him by mentioning the support she'd been giving him with Jack and his pending divorce. But before he could even think of anything to say, she'd gathered herself and continued, "…I just wanted one good thing outside of it all and I feel like a fool for thinking that a long-distance relationship was the answer."

His arms tightened around her to offer support and comfort, "You're not a fool JJ." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it into the palm that was clinging to his lapel, "He's the fool for not realizing that you're someone worth waiting on and for choosing to get his rocks off on the side instead." He felt her wipe her eyes and rested his chin on the top of her head, "Do you want me to round up the guys and go have a chat with him for you? I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help."

That finally made her laugh and she pulled away, wiping her eyes and looking up at him with a genuine, if small, smile, "No, that's alright. He's an ass but I don't need him beaten and dropped in a bayou with cement shoes." Surprising herself, she giggled at the not-so-innocent, faux-shocked-and-insulted look he gave her, "Please, I know you, Reid and Morgan too well and Rossi well enough!" She sat back down and he followed suit, "I left him a voicemail when I was still more angry than sad so he'll hear _exactly_ what I think of him when he manages to crawl back out of bed. You'd think that losing his dad and living through a hurricane like that would have made him grow up but I guess not."

"Sad to say, some people never do." Hotch rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his folded hands as they lapsed into silence for a few minutes as JJ gathered her composure and he reflected on what she'd said. The Cajun idiot aside, he realized that the last few months had been rougher than she'd have ever admitted if he hadn't caught her crying. He'd been so wrapped up in the more obvious issues within the team and in his own problems that he'd overlooked the strain she'd been under and even her reactions to the dog attack on the same case that had sent Reid into a spiral. So had everyone else; they were so used to her seemingly effortless juggling of everything that they'd forgotten that she needed support too. He couldn't do much about everything or everyone else but he resolved to be a better friend and not lose sight of that again.

JJ took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, "Well, he's not worth crying over anymore. But can I ask you something, at risk of sounding like a teenage girl?"

"Of course."

"Do you think I'll ever find someone who can put up with me? Do you think he'll ever grow up?"

"JJ, I think you'll make a man a very lucky one someday and he'll never forget that. As for Detective Lamontagne, time will tell. The question is whether or not it'll be too late when he does."


	2. Nine Months Later

Disclaimer: Haven't bought it in the last 20 minutes, so it's still not mine!

Note: I was far kinder to Will in this chapter than I thought I would be. Am I going soft?

New Orleans Detective William Lamontagne Jr. stood on a semi-familiar front stoop and wiped his hands nervously on his slacks. Life had gone rapidly to shit for him these last few months, starting with the voicemail he'd found on his phone from JJ. Her scathing opinion of him and the loss of their tentative relationship quickly brought his fling with the rookie detective on the force to an end as well. _Her_ vicious response to finding out about his 'other girlfriend' traveled through the department and he was now a pariah with the ladies there. The resulting reprimand for sleeping with a subordinate and another for being drunk on the job led to a suspension with pay and mandatory AA meetings if he wanted to be reinstated. AA meetings and time alone with nothing to do had led to a lot of soul-searching, the beginnings of growing up and realizing what he'd lost. And that had led him here to JJ's condo. He hoped she'd give him a second chance.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, belatedly wondering if she was even home. She'd blocked his number sometime after leaving that voicemail so he had no way of knowing if she was even in town.

That question was answered a moment later when the blonde in question answered the door and frowned at the sight of him there, "Will, what are you doing here?"

The last few months, while hectic and with their downsides, had been going well for JJ. Immediately following their late-night chat, she'd noticed that Hotch had been paying closer attention to her and checking on her when she seemed stressed or down. She'd continued to be his sounding board, personally and professionally but he now made sure to draw her out more frequently and return the favor. When Pen had been shot, he'd been her rock in the aftermath of her first kill. And three months ago, a few months after his divorce had been finalized, they'd taken the first tentative steps into being a couple. Things had been going well, so finding Will on her doorstep was something of an unpleasant surprise.

"Hi JJ. I'm sorry for showing up out of the blue like this but I was hoping to talk to you for a few minutes."

Manners won out over irritation, so she stepped back and gestured him into the small hallway, "I can spare a few minutes. Come on in."

"Thanks JJ. How have you been?" He knew he sounded like an idiot but for the life of him he couldn't remember the carefully rehearsed speech he'd had memorized just a few minutes ago.

"I'm doing okay, work is as busy as ever. What did you want to talk about?" And there was the distaste for small talk that he remembered.

"I wanted to apologize to you. I was an idiot and an ass. I've had to do a lot of thinking over the last few months and I realized how badly I'd treated you. I'm sorry."

Nine months ago, she'd wondered how she'd react to those words from him. Would she have taken him back? Slammed the door in his face before he'd said a word? But time had healed her and she could see that he was sincere, so the words came easily, "I forgive you Will."

Will smiled in relief but before he could say anything else, a small dark-haired little boy came running around the corner and clutched JJ's leg, "Auntie JJ, play, now!" His surprise was complete when the BAU Unit Chief came around the corner after the boy with a nod for the detective. The man was dressed casually; between that and the boy's demand to play, it wasn't hard for Will to figure out that he was here on a social visit, at the very least. He shuffled a foot awkwardly against the floor, half-hoping for some encouragement from JJ, but she was busy reassuring the boy that they'd play in a minute. He ran off a moment later and JJ glanced at the Unit Chief for a second before focusing on Will.

"I appreciate you coming here Will and I do hope that everything works out well for you. Stay safe, okay?"

"Thanks again JJ." At least her brush off had been a gentle one; he knew it could have been far, far worse and she'd forgiven him. He couldn't ask much more than that, "You take care now."

"You too Will."

He reached for the doorknob to let himself out, only to pause when the unit chief, who'd been watching silently, spoke up, "Good luck Detective." Will nodded and let himself out, vanishing from their lives for the time being.

Once the door closed behind him, Aaron wrapped his arm around JJ's waist, "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. Surprised, but okay. What do you think that was all about?" JJ rested her head on his shoulder, seeking comfort in his support.

"I think he honestly wanted to apologize and was probably hoping for a second chance. Judging by the way he acted, he's finally growing up." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she sighed.

"For his sake, I'm glad. You were right, time did tell."

"On more than one thing." Further discussion was cut off by a cry from an impatient two-year-old.

"Daddy, JJ, play now!"

"We're coming Jack!"

The End


End file.
